This invention relates to the field of machining panels to size, and positioning and drilling apertures in those panels. More particularly, this invention can be used with panel systems such as xe2x80x9csystem 32 specificationxe2x80x9d for connectors, hinges, handles, draw or slides and the like.
System 32 was devised as a standard aperture spacing approximately 50 years ago to streamline the construction of kitchen cabinets, wardrobes or any cabinets which have their carcasses made from sheet material. Hardware has been manufactured with apertures 32 mm apart or a multiple of 32 mm apart such that it can be readily positioned in its required orientation on a panel drilled in accordance with the system 32 specification.
Often, the vertical panels of the system 32 cabinet are drilled with two continuous, vertical lines of apertures at 32 mm spacing, the front vertical line is set 37 mm from the panel front edge. The back line of apertures is set a multiple of 32 mm from the front line of apertures. Such a configuration provides the first and last apertures for a horizontally mounted piece of hardware such as a drawer runner. These vertical panels are created such that they may be used for left and right hand sides of a cabinet.
The manner in which such panels have been constructed in the past created certain limitations. For example, because the panels are often created as universal panels, they may have many more apertures than are actually needed to mount the hardware. Such universal panels may also omit many apertures which may be needed for specific applications. The role or use of a specific aperture of a universal panel has to be determined each time the panel is employed. In some parts of the world, regulations require that an unused aperture must be coated with a sealant to prevent formaldehyde discharge, making the use of the standard panel a time consuming proposition.
The apertures in these cabinet panels have been drilled by many methods in the past. Tools such as multi-spindle borers were created to produce a line or sometimes two or more lines of apertures using interceded drilling heads. Various hardware manufacturers also offer specialized drill presses which not only bore the apertures necessary to mount their own configuration of, for example, a door hinge, but accept a gear hinge box of five or seven drill bits used for line drilling the panels. A registration pin secured in the last drill aperture positions, the next drilling enabling an operator to work along the panel edge. Numerous drilling gigs have also been created to produce one or two lines of apertures by using sleeves to position the drill bits which are mounted in a portable drill, thus duplicating the original drilling patterns.
The drilling templates of the present invention differ from those described above in that, for example, the main drilling template presents the operator with an array of system 32 drilling options not only two vertical aperture lines. This allows the operator to drill only the apertures that are necessary for the construction of the cabinet being constructed. The present invention may also allow the operator to code the aperture positions making it more obvious which apertures are used for which purposes. The tool may also be used to produce aperture patterns in mirror pairs for left and right hand sides of a cabinet and by using, for example, a paper template to record that drilling pattern. The drilling pattern may be used to quickly reproduce a panel sometime in the future.
The drilling templates of the present invention are registered to a work table or bench which is created by or supplied with the tool. The panel to be drilled is registered to the bench. Registration blocks can be used to make fine adjustments to the panel position on the bench. In a preferred embodiment, the registration blocks may be used as well to position the drilling template to the bench. Side stops for adjusting the position of the panel on the bench may also be used. Once the panel has been positioned using the registration blocks and side stops, subsequent panels can be quickly registered to these stops. The registration blocks and side stops also help to secure the panel to the bench while work proceeds.
To enable the work to be positioned even more precisely in relation to the drilling templates, measuring sites are supplied with a tool. The measuring sites are preferably formed from circular, transparent material which can be fitted into the template apertures. The sites are scribed with cross hairs like, for example, a gun site, such that a marked position on a panel can be precisely aligned at the intersection of the cross hairs. The mark on the panel can be, for example, the position of the center of the aperture to be drilled. The registration blocks can be equipped with positioning screws to make fine positional adjustments of the panel.
Custom templates can be quickly created with the present invention. A custom template is a piece of sheet material such as plywood, MDF, particle board and the like, which is large enough to accommodate the drilling locations for the panel and registration block position for that panel. The custom template is preferably drilled with a plunge router in conjunction with one or more of the templates, and replaces the drilling templates, and selection and/or paper template. Once a custom template has been created, the plunge router is fitted with the corresponding template guide and bushing, allowing the operator to reproduce the drilling configuration according to the custom template.
If the apertures in the panel are drilled in accordance with the system 32 spacing, the templates can be used without adjustment. If other than system 32 spacings are required, the position of the templates can be adjusted with the aid of the adjustable stops on the registration blocks and side stops and/or a custom template can be used.
The present invention also preferably includes hinge-type templates which preferably can be registered to the registration blocks. A door panel which is drilled by utilizing the hinge templates will be aligned with the hinge mounting plate fastened to the cabinet carcass, when those mounting plates have been positioned in correct relationship to the registration blocks.